Senator Cash's office said the feedback from a review into the industry had overwhelmingly showed the need for a national space agency.

Astrophysicist Alan Duffy said he hoped the announcement would be a boon for the number of Australian jobs in space.

"We have longstanding ties with NASA, exploring space together and generating all of these jobs. And that's the key point of both the Government's and Labor's plans, it is a jobs industry-first agency," he told ABC News Breakfast.

"It's designed to create satellites and new uses for the images that come from those satellites, and I don't mean giant, bus-sized satellites of the '60s and '70s.

"Thanks to smart phones something the size of a toaster has the same capabilities as some of these historic launches. So we get to space cheaper and we can do more when we're there."

The industry has grown by about 10 per cent each year since the late 1990s.

Australia already has significant involvement in national and international space activities, but a dedicated agency would help shape the development of a cohesive space program and provide a stronger platform for collaboration.